Louis Roederer Brut 2012 (750ML)

96 JS / 95 WE / 94 WA / 93 WS / 93 DE / 92 JD / 17 JR

Just over two-thirds pinot noir (Verzenay) and the balance southeast-facing chardonnay from Chouilly. This has 30% of oak fermentation which has compressed the wine, lending it an air of extreme concentration. The nose is gently spicy, offering peaches and cherries as well as neat autolysis edge. The palate has a powerful, long and assertive feel, with peach and lemon pith, chalky minerals, and some grapefruit. A powerful vintage for Roederer. - James Suckling

This beautiful wine, with its poise, elegance and balance, has both a steely mineral core and an outer ripe-fruit character. It has citrus, tight acidity and rich apple and green-plum flavors. Drink now. - Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast

Roederer’s white golden 2012 Vintage is a classic Millésime. Based on 70% cool-climate Pinot Noir from Verzy and Verzenay (Montagne de Reims) and 30% Chardonnay from a very warm, south/southwest-facing vineyard in Chouilly (Côte des Blancs), the 2012 represents the mineral terroirs of its origins beautifully—pure, refined and fresh. Fermented 8% in oak and with just 16% of the volume having done malolactic fermentation to make the Roederer Vintage Brut a classic gastronomic wine, the 2012 shows a deep, rich and ripe but also fine, precise and elegant chalky nose with hazelnut, toasted almond and blossom flavors. The palate is profound, round, highly elegant and fresh, and the long, remarkably salty finish is very complex and terribly fresh in its persistent mineral expression. This is an impressive, ripe and almost creamy textured but precise and finessed 2012 with power, body and structure. A true, highly stimulating classic. Just love it! Disgorged in January 2017 after four years of bottle aging (dosage: nine grams per liter). Tasted in Reims in May 2018. "2012 was one of the most challenging and complicated years ever experienced in Champagne," says Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon. "However, difficult conditions often lead to great things..." The yields were low, and the continental climatic conditions toward the end of the season, gave unusual levels of maturity, resulting in "rich, full-bodied and structured wines.” - Stephan Reinhardt, The Wine Advocate

This mouthwatering version is fine and satiny in texture, featuring citrus peel acidity that frames a well-meshed range of crushed currant, Earl Grey tea and lemon curd flavors, with a rich hint of toasted brioche. The minerally underpinning echoes on the finish. Drink now through 2030. - Alison Napjus, Wine Spectator

Roederer's 2012 vintage Champagne is terrific. It's a blend of 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay with a dosage of 9g/l, demonstrating a perfumed and racy bouquet of citrus, pastry, spice, peach and pear. It has a perfectly balanced, vinous palate with a lively and intense freshness supported by finely-judged acidity, ending with an iodine note to the finish. - Yohan Castaing, Decanter

The 2012 Brut Vintage is another beauty. White flowers, ripe orchard fruits, brioche, toasted bread, and a kiss of chalky minerality all flow to a soft, mouthfilling Champagne with outstanding purity and balance. It shows the richer, forward style of the vintage nicely. - Jeb Dunnuck

Rich, yeasty, broad nose with toast and cooked apple. Long and stylish and persistent. Superbly ornate nose. Powerful. Excellent! - Jancis Robinson